> He's an American, a left wing socialist American, not that the alternatives are any> better at the moment.

I cringe every time I see someone say this. Obama is not "left wing" or "socialist" by any sane definition of either of those words. All sides of US politics are so far to the right by global standards that it isn't funny. Slightly to the left of as far to the right as you can get is still a very long way to the right. There is no such thing as a left-wing alternative in US politics.